There are so many spaces to get lost in. I often get lost in them.

It’s More Than Just a Debate

It was on purpose that I had no alcohol in the house tonight. Why is that a big deal? Well, because it was the second presidential debate, of course. To get it out there in the open: I am a liberal/left leaning female who would have voted Bernie, but do not feel defeated in voting for Hillary. I can honestly say, after scrolling through my Facebook news feed, I saw about fifty or sixty different memes or rhetoric posts from the Trump supporters that were just vile images or complete rhetoric purported as fact. And I know these people; in my experience they’re pretty awesome people, but I just don’t understand how they can explain away speaking about women the way he does. How they can explain away his blatant xenophobia. How they can explain away his tax logic and the fact his business practices have not helped the average American. I don’t understand the support, and I think it’s interesting to examine the reasons people DO support him.

People in the US are sick of politicians. I get that. However, this is the face of the United States of America. This a job that takes people skills, patience, intelligence, and preparation. I mean, who goes to a restaurant instead of a hospital hoping the head chef will treat a broken bone? Trump doesn’t have the knowledge, the experience or the demeanor to be our commander in chief. Anyone who speaks so flippantly about nuclear weapons is NOT OKAY to be anywhere near nuclear weapons.

People like the fact that Trump says whatever he wants. Yeah, that’s great. I really want a president who talks about grabbing a woman’s pussy and then writes it off as just words, just locker room banter. So it’s okay to view women as objects? It’s okay to speak this way? Oh, wait, I don’t particularly want anyone who talks about violence in that way. Period. Perpetuating a culture of objectification of women is NOT OKAY. Saying whatever you want sounds like something a spoiled brat does to get attention. And honestly, I think that Trump knows his overt awfulness will get him attention and endear him to those people I don’t want to let near my drinks at bar. Not to say all Trump supporters are going to be the type of person to roofie a drink, but he must appeal to this group. This is the type of language that makes it seem like women are there for the taking. It makes me feel dirty.

Trump says it like it is. Does he, or does he just shout his feelings and anger and Tweet bullshit at three in the morning? Speaking confidently and brashly don’t make you more honest or a better person or more knowledgeable. Grandly stating you are the only person who can fix a problem, and declaring that you would start proceedings to imprison your opponent, these are characteristics of dictators, not proponents of democracy.

It’s difficult to remember any other reason’s people like Trump, so I’ll move on to why he’s unfit to be anywhere near the office. Firstly, his thinly veiled racism is unacceptable. As a nation, we need to have these hard as fuck discussions about why, as human beings, we are still seeing our differences as opposed to our similarities, and how we can work to bring communities and the nation together. We need to discuss why stop and frisk will NOT work; how it will cause so many people to feel singled out. It’s also important to look at his xenophobia; he was asked a straightforward question by a Muslim American woman during this debate about how he would make her and others feel safe during these times, and HE DID NOT ANSWER. Instead, he launched into a xenophobic rant about Muslims and Syrians.

Another very important topic was brought up during the debate: bullying. Clinton mentioned it briefly, how Donald Trump is a bully, and the implication is that this election is very public, very all over. My son came home from school and was super upset that Trump wanted to build a wall. Now, I had not talked politics with my child, but he heard about it anyway. And it made him cry. He’s since been privy to other terrible slights by Trump, and we talk about why they’re not okay. However, I can’t even imagine trying to explain Trump’s view of women to my seven year old. To take a Millennial phrase: I just can’t even.

Trump is not presidential material. Hillary Clinton has experience, she has a plan to create jobs, fix the skewered tax system, fix Obama care, and still supports marriage equality and women’s rights. She is not perfect. She has made mistakes, and I’m sure she will make more, because she’s human and flawed. But she is strong, and she doesn’t terrify me the way Trump does. And I can honestly say that I will be proud come election day to vote for the first woman on the presidential ballot.